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Friday, May 23, 2014

It's no lie to me that I am somewhat obsessed with stationary, I just love the stuff. I feel I landed on this earth with a vision for stationary, crafts and places like Ikea, if my mum or dad ever lost me in big shops, they'd always find me wondering the stationary/ D.I.Y sections.. So when Viking kindly got in contact with a budget of £40 for me to let loose on their website, it's safe to say I was a little over excited, as any stationary fanatic would be!

I'mma tell you a little about Viking. With a similar vibe to Staples, Viking supply all kinds of stock from pens to paper to kettles to desks to cleaning products to paper clips. All the things which satisfyingly meet your art-ing and general needs.

[A little peak into what I ordered!]

Much of the stock online is available to order in a bulk as it's a great source for purchasing office supplies at a much cheaper price. However if you're someone like me who doesn't yet need to supply anything for they're invisible team of office workers, then there are also great things on the website which you can individually buy just like you would in Hobby Craft, Staples aaaand so on. My eyeballs were instantly drawn to the craft section, with glitter left, right and centre, I had to divert myself as I already have oh so much of the wonderful stuff. So below are items which I was intrigued to try out and write up reviews for, I hope you find what I chose interesting and a little on the groovy side! So without further or do - off we go on the road full of review stationary loveliness...

1. Colouring Pens*£6.99 Pack of 24

Kicking things off with these rather delightful 'Berol' colouring pens. These pens remind me of when I was in school, as soon as the teacher pulled these out from the cupboard, you knew a fun lesson was ahead. Having previously owned these pens' siblings, that being the fine liner tips, I was intrigued to try out these thicker pens and they did not disappoint!

I think £6.99 is amazing value, as previously mentioned, I've had the fine liners in the past, many of which I still use - we're talking 3, 4 years old, and they haven't dried out. I've bought soo many felt tips in the past that literally last just under a month before they start slacking on colour. I'd quite happily live off these felt tips when I've got some colouring in to do for the rest of time, that is quite a statement right there.. Have you tried these, how do/did you find them?

Ooo and just in case you wanted to know, whilst I was getting my squiggle on with testing out the pens, I was watching The Hannah Montana Movie. A great film, reeeally great, no shame over here..

2. Chalk Eggs*£1.29 Pack of 6

I crumble when I see quirky products like these. I mean, what better than chalk looking eggs, mind = blown. A pretty random buy I must say, but hey - they do the job of chalk. These are actually playground chalks, so getting creative outside my house on the pavements may be an idea during Summer as the chalk simply washes away so you can keep creating, creating, creating. As you can see above, I briefly tested out the chalks onto some black card, I just love the pastel colours and am super impressed with how the colours show on the paper. I've got a small chalk board that I doodle on in my room and for that these are perfect. As good as chalk gets me thinks!

3. Metallic Pens*£5.29 Pack of 5

I was so intrigued to try out these pens, in the past I've purchased similar pens like these along with gel pens and was left feeling a little pooped with how quick the pens ran out/ didn't work/ didn't show on black paper etc. As you can kinda tell by my photos, I got a little pen happy with these - they are SO good.

The colours appear so bold when using on black card, the pens don't tend to smudge nor are they too liquid-y. These pens are perfect when it comes to card craft, writing messages with these colours adds such a funky touch. I can't wait to use these in my future creative projects, I feel we will become great friends! What's your opinion, yay or nay for metallic pens? ['Pen' word count: 9]

4. Notebook*£3.99 A5 200 Sheets

During my time at school and first year at uni, I've gotten through about five books of the A4 sized Pukka Pads so I think I'd class myself as a bit of a 'Pukka fan', is that a thing? It is now.. Are you too, a Pukka fan?

When on the go I often gather lots of ideas in my head and they tend to get lost in my notes on my phone or on scrap pieces of paper, so ordering this notebook (bearing in mind I do own probably just over 30 notebooks - *starts singing 'we/ I caaaaan't stop'*) felt necessary for catching those thoughts!

The pages in this notebook are quite thin, meaning the markings of the pen does mark the other side of the page which is personally a little pet hate of mine, but hey if you were to use this book for jotting down notes, lists or any other scrap jottings (which just mentioned are all things I'm going to use it for!), then I'd say this notebook is great for on the go uses. A5 is also a great size for popping into your handbag, don't let those thoughts fly awaaaay!

5. Tape[Image: My brother and me!]

*£2.49 Each

These tapes are ideal for any craft lovers out there who love adding a bit of personalisation. I own lots of patterned washi tapes myself so it was nice to play about with some plain block colours. I think these work great for labelling and as demonstrated pinning up your favourite photos. Scotch is a well known trusted brand for all kinds of tape, these tapes came in a little pricier than the ones I'd usually buy, however I find the quality of them totally worth it and I would definitely be interested in investing in some more! Have you used any of the Scotch tapes?

6. Black Card*£4.29 Black Card 100 Sheets '225gsm'
Black card is essential for any crafters out there, it comes in handy when making cards, creating labels, presentation uses and just adding an all-round neat touch to any piece of work. As I'm an art student who is a little obsessed with using black card in almost everything, I get through it like there is nooo tomorrow, so ordering black card in bulk is a big must-have.

I'm always on the hunt for finding good quality black card and as being a student, I prefer to find the cheapest source (as I'm sure does everyone with most things)! At £4.29 for 100 sheets, I'd say Viking is one of the cheapest places where I've found this amount of card on sale, so once I've gotten through this batch of 100 sheets, I'mma be heading back, ordering some more! But hey, if you're not a weird black card lover like myself, then this will last you such a long time - smiles all round!

7. Post-it Notes*£4.29 225 Sheets

There is nothing worse than an un-sticky post-it, like, garrrgh, you had one job! However, these post-its made me regain faith in the post-it society, I've had the above notes stuck to my Mac for just under 1 week now and there is no sign of peeling/ falling off, those suckers are having a great time. My eyes, for obvious reasons, were drawn to these post-its, not only are they carved into flowers the colours provided are simply pleasing. Are you a fan of pretty post-it's?

8. Eraser*£1.49

I remember having one of these erasers when in primary school, and I literally felt like the coolest person, can you blame me, it's an eraser on wheels.. It's super annoying when making a mistake, in my case I'd gone and drawn the 'S' of my surname too long *oh no..* Cannot fault this rubber, the mistake is barely visible and the stress of making the mistake in the first place disappears with it. Great value, and these are also available in pink and orange!

9. Sharpener*£0.99

So we're all a little lazy when it comes to sharpening pencils over the bin (I know I am).. So when coming across this compact sharpener a little voice in my head shouted YES. Sorry for being lame and writing my name, but in the bottom photo you can see just how sharp my pencil led is, I've got a little stash of sharpeners and not one of those are as good as this one. Out of everything ordered from Viking I'd say this is something that I'm super impressed with! Also available in the pairing colours, pink & green and red & dark blue.

10. Hot Chocolate*£3.49

Topping it all off with a tasty treat.. Say whaaat - this isn't stationary?! That's the groovy thing about Viking, they sell all kinds of things on there! Couldn't resist not adding this to the basket, with four big scoops and a dash of milk, this hot chocolate was the perfect end to a busy day of photographing and editing. Minty, chocolaty, creamy and 100% probably bad for your insides (great for the soul, mind) this gets a huge green tick from me. If you like Aero chocolate and mint then I guarantee you'll be agreeing with me - super yummy!

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So there we go, a huge stationary (& hint of chocolate) haul! A huge thank you to Viking for supplying these items. I'm one happy customer, great products and it was so much fun trying everything out.

I hope you guys enjoyed checking out these items with me! Let me know what you think? Be sure to check out the website for more deals, delights and other supplies you may need if you so fancy it.

If all this wasn't enough then I previously did a similar kinda post a while back with a look into what's in my pencil case/ art supplies so why not check that out too, stick around, have some tea, make some cakes, woooo-hoooo!

Friday, May 16, 2014

"Nothings better than a picnic." - Zooey Deschanel☂Nails that look good enough to eat!

How's about another nail art tutorial that'll have you smiling through Spring!

I've sooo been looking forward to creating this tutorial for you's ever since I wore the tasty look to The UK Blog Awards a couple of weeks back. I love to accessorise with my nails alongside lots of jewellery, jazzy hair and fancy shoes etc, etc, and whats better is these nails are super effective and so easy to create!

Below I have created a simple tutorial so that you can create your very own Strawberry nails in six steps! And why stop at just your fingertips, go on ahead and paint strawberries on your toes too - imagine the waves swishing over your fresh-fruited feet - gaah so excited for Summer.

- Do feel free to leave any nail art requests, I love making these tutorials for you! -

To create this tasty look you will need:

✿Nail Varnish:

Red, Green,White, Clear

✿Green Glitter

✿Dotting tool or Cocktail stick

✿Small paintbrush

Starting with freshly cleaned nails, filing them here and there if need be, apply a clear base coat. This protects the coloured nail varnish from discolouring your nails.

Take your red polish and for best coverage apply two coats to each nail.

Next it's time to start creating the Strawberries leaves! You can create the leaves using a brush but I find it easiest using a dotting tool, eBay sell super cheap ones if you're interested! Or just use the alternative which can be a cocktail stick, tooth pick and so on.

Take your dotting tool and drop some green nail polish onto a protected surface [I previously mentioned the palette I use for my dotting tools in my last nail art tutorial:Floral Nail Art].

Begin to dot along the top of your nail and gently drag or dot the paint down creating the Strawberry leaves, sort of a paint dripping/ spiky look. This doesn't have to be accurate as you will be covering up the base green with glitter!

Whilst the 'leaves' are drying, drop a couple blobs of white nail varnish onto a protected surface, then, using your dotting tool, begin to add on the Strawberry pips these can be dots or thin lines - this also works with yellow and black polish but I personally think white pips looks most effective.

Now for the fancy part, take your clear coat and trace over the green leaves. Before the clear coat dries, take a small paintbrush, dip it into the green glitter and softly plant the glitter onto the nail. Repeat for all nails! I'm using my nail art brushes I bought on eBay and glitter from my local craft store, very inexpensive and super effective.

All that's left to do now is to seal everything together, taking your clear coat paint over each nail and watch your Strawberry nails shimmer to their delicious yumminess.

[END.]

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I hope you enjoyed those 6 simple steps to edible-looking nails! Perfect for a picnic in the park with the summer sun or even when your shivering in a jumper to brighten a rainy day (in England you never can predict the weather..)

I'd love to see your photos if you re-create this look, share them with me over on my Twitter or Instagram making sure you tag me in them! Also don't forget to drop me a comment if you have any nail art requests for future tutorials, perhaps you'd like to see some more fruit, flowers or even a duckling dancing by the moon - request away!